The frame suspended the dilithum in the reaction chamber using a field effect to keep the crystal faces in alignment with the matter/antimatter streams. The correct alignment of the crystal faces and planes maximized the efficiency of the plasma conversion that took place. By the 2360s, the theta-matrix compositor was integrated with the articulation frame, allowing recrystallization to take place in the warp core with the core online. (TNG: "Relics")